Northern Group Trying New Approach To Get Fort McMurray Connector Built

There is still life in a plan to build a road between Fort McMurray and La Loche.

Bruce Simms, the CEO of the Mamawetan Northwest Resource Partnership, says his group has hired a consultant to organize a partnership deal between industry and the Alberta and Saskatchewan governments.

The proposed arrangement would mean the Alberta government wouldn’t be on the hook for all the money.

Simms believes the Alberta government does have an appetite to see the road built.

He notes that so-called “P3” projects have gained steam in that province before.

Simms says the heavy-haul route would make a lot of sense for both energy companies and the mining industry.

According to Simms, his group is drafting a business plan and talking to senior levels of government on both sides of the Saskatchewan-Alberta border.

He hopes the private sector capital can be raised through deals with energy, mining and forestry companies.

Simms says they would like to see a loan guarantee and financing ready by May.

The Klein and Calvert governments announced plans to build a highway connecting Fort McMurray and La Loche in 2005, but the project has stalled since then.